Oral Answers to Questions

Douglas Chapman Excerpts

Thursday 14th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Graham Stuart]

My right hon. Friend is quite right. It was in his time as Secretary of State for Education that we built much closer ties between our Departments to make sure we could promote educational exports. He is also right to highlight the pandemic’s impact on EdTech. We are working with BESA, the British Educational Suppliers Association, and the Department for Education, his old Department, on a major EdTech event this month, which will connect companies with overseas buyers.

More activity is planned for later in the year in several key markets, supported by the international trade champion, Sir Steve Smith. That post, of course, came out of the work that my right hon. Friend did to develop the international education strategy. He will be pleased to know that we will soon be launching a refreshed international education strategy, in collaboration with the Department for Education and with the support of other Government Departments, that includes provisions to maximise EdTech’s export potential.

[Douglas Chapman (Dunfermline and West Fife) (SNP)]

What discussions she plans to have with her EU counterparts on developing the relationship on services.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

What discussions she plans to have with her EU counterparts on developing the relationship on services.

[The Minister for Trade Policy (Greg Hands)]

The trade co-operation agreement secures continued market access across key service sectors, including both professional and business services. The agreement also includes a commitment to review the services provisions with a view to making further improvements, along with a specific joint declaration on regulatory co-operation in financial services. Specifics will be taken forward by the Cabinet Office and Taskforce Europe.

[Douglas Chapman [V]]

Within a day of leaving the EU, shares worth billions of euros normally traded in the City of London flooded out of the EU to other European capitals such as Paris and Amsterdam. One trader told the Financial Times that this was a “stunning own goal” and only the beginning of the financial sector’s post-Brexit decline. We know that in Scotland seafood markets are already being decimated, but what is the Minister’s assessment of the damage Brexit will do to the UK’s financial sector and how many own goals can we expect in the future?

[Greg Hands]

The memorandum of understanding on financial services ensures financial stability and consumer protection, and we look forward to that being negotiated. I was not surprised by this question, but I was a little bit surprised that the hon. Gentleman was the one asking it. It is not that long ago that he said:

“Leaving the European Union without a deal in place is an act of economic self-harm”.

But that is precisely what he voted for on 30 December.